This is not about politics. It’s about the classic dilemma of actually DEFINING THE PROBLEM.

From what I’ve read, nowhere in the four, five, ten different ‘bills’, with over 2,000 pages, is there anything about PREVENTIVE MEDICINE!

According to Alan Deutschman’s provocative Fast Company cover story in May of 2005 (which he turned in full-length book called Change or Die) the healthcare industry consumes almost $2 TRILLION A YEAR in the U.S. alone (15% of our gross domestic product).

80% of this healthcare spending budget is consumed by five behavioral issues: too much smoking, drinking, eating and stress… and not enough exercise.

We know the CAUSE of these health problems. We even know the SOLUTIONS.

We’re going to be spending an additional $1 TRILLION on things like the “uninsured”, “the public option” “adjustments in Medicaid”, etc., etc., etc.

So forget your political affiliation. As social entrepreneurs, where do you see the OPPORTUNITY?

The real (ENTREPRENEURIAL) question should be about what would happen if we spent some portion of that money on PREVENTION???

I’m finishing up a book/monograph on CHANGE, titled CHANGE [THE] RULES. I saw a recent post by Seth Godin (Best-Selling Author & Permission Marketing Guru) that ended with the above quote.

We just finished a couple of workshops on the West Coast (San Diego) with 150 people. Great group. Great energy. Great desire to change, but…

Still a lot of issues. Here’s my blunt, authentic, challenging (and I believe relevant) call to action.

STOP worrying about the economy, your Board, budget cuts, etc.

START focusing on the SOLUTION, not on the PROBLEMS.

Right now, you have some cash, some talented staff, and a lot of people who are counting on your for help.

REALLOCATE your existing resources right now!

STOP spending those resources (money, time, people) on things that don’t work.

At worst, many of you are in a long, slow, death spiral. Maybe not this year, but next year or the year after.

At best, many of you will ‘stay in business’ but in a maintenance, stagnant, get-by mode (as opposed to SCALING & GROWING YOUR IMPACT).

“CHANGE is a bear, but it’s better than death.”

The following appears a little bit like a ‘ramble’… but it’s actually an amalgamation of field work, thought leaders I really respect and my own entrepreneurial background.

Here are 7 things that I believe can help you FLOURISH, not just SURVIVE, in times like this.

1. THINK BIG. Now is the time to talk about your VISION and TRANSFORMATION and QUANTUM LEAP!!!

   *Yesterday I was in two separate sessions with College Presidents and their Vice Presidents for Development. In both cases, we spent all of our time talking about Vision, Thinking Big, Quantum Leaps, the Message, our Very, Very Best Prospects, etc.

2. FOCUS ON YOUR STRENGTHS!

   “In times like these, you get a chance to show your STRENGTH.”
   - Jim Collins

   Now is the time to get back to your core… focus on your strength… do what you do better than anybody in the world!
   

   ***Nick and I looked at each other yesterday (in one of our many fun-filled brainstorming sessions) and concluded that now is the time to stop doing anything that isn’t central to our core vision and mission.

3. “CRAZY TIMES CALL FOR CRAZY PEOPLE.” This is an old line from Tom Peters that I love. I think it was from back in the late 80′s/early 90′s. If he thought things were “crazy” then, think about what’s going on now!

   The point of this is that ‘MANAGERS’ are, by definition, NOT CRAZY.

   These times call for mavericks, crazy people, thought leaders, innovators, creative destructers (to quote Joseph Schumpeter’s definition of an entrepreneur).

4. WHAT BOX? This isn’t just about “thinking outside the box”. This is about challenging the fact that there is even a BOX to get outside of! In times like these… THERE ARE NO RULES!!! (Beyond the obvious moral, ethical, do what’s right stuff.)

5. ACT NOW.

   True entrepreneurs thrive in times like these… because they see so many OPPORTUNITIES to CHANGE the GAME.

   Times like these require massive amounts of CREATIVITY and INNOVATION.

   REMEMBER: CREATIVITY is about ideas… INNOVATION is about turning ideas into action!!!
   

   ACT NOW!
   

6. WORKING ON THE ‘NUMERATOR’… NOT THE ‘DENOMINATOR’. More budget cuts are not the answer!!! (However, this is a perfect time to reallocate resources, change the people on your bus, and change seats.)

   These are the times to focus on your NUMERATOR: SALES, THE TOP LINE, NEW REVENUE STREAMS, etc.

   This is what we do. We’re constantly trying to help people increase their TOP LINE, their NUMERATOR. (It’s so much more fun talking with LEADERS and ENTREPRENEURS who understand that they need to ‘SELL’ their way out of these challenges… vs. talking with MANAGERS who want to ‘CUT’ their way out of these trying times.)

7. STOP LISTENING TO THE DOOMSAYERS! Trust me. True entrepreneurs are spending absolutely no time whatsoever reading the front page of the newspaper nor listening/watching the three major news networks.

   In our world, if you were to believe 90% of what you read and hear… NO ONE IS GIVING TO ANYTHING because of the “terrible economy”.

   That’s just bull honky. Last week, the Chairman of the Board of Habitat for Humanity made his move from SUCCESS TO SIGNIFICANCE by investing $100 Million in Habitat’s work. (I did not see anything in that announcement where he was complaining about the “state of the economy”.)

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? ‘Managing’, ‘tweaking’, ‘cutting more from a budget that’s already showing more bone than a well chewed chicken wing’ just isn’t going to get you where you know you need to be.

THINK LIKE AN ENTREPRENEUR!

P.S. In Inc. Magazine’s 30th Anniversary Edition, there is a terrific article by Jim Collins, author of Good to Great and Built to Last. He was asked what we might expect in the next 30 years.

His answer: Uncertainty, chaos, turbulence and risk. As Inc. says, “In other words, it’s not a bad time to be an ENTREPRENEUR.”

The authors talk about Jeffrey Hollander, Founder and CEO of Seventh Generation, a $100M firm that is into green cleaners, laundry detergent, dishwashing soap, etc.; and about his relationship with Wal-Mart. Lynch and Walls suggest that Hollander’s answer to the “WHY” (he is in business) embodies the core principle of SOCIAL ENTERPRISE:

“We are not in business to be in business. We are in business only because of our mission.”

I also believe that this Step 3 around ‘CHANGE‘ is one of my most powerful admonitions to an ENTREPRENEUR. CHANGE rules. CHANGE the rules. (There are no rules.) CHANGE or die. CHANGE to live. CHANGE creates huge opportunities. CHANGE is the only constant. Etc., etc., etc.

This guy is a brilliant thinker and a powerful writer. Simple. Clear. Direct.

TRIBES is all about CHANGING THE WORLD… MOVEMENTS… and LEVERAGE.

I will write a better review/summary shortly, but you need to get the book NOW.

Change can be difficult. A lot of the organizations we work with are 40, 50 or even 100 years old. Speaking openly and broadly to those organizations looking to make a change or transform, I would give the following advice:

1. Make Visits: This is pretty simple. It doesn’t say make a leap to Major Gifts. It doesn’t say role out a ‘culture of philanthropy’. If, as an organization, you simply resolve to make visits, that is — get out, visit with prospects and stakeholders and share your story, present the opportunity to help — most organizations would find themselves completely transformed after one year (or even 100 days) of this commitment. It’s often difficult to “turn the battleship” so let’s start with baby steps. As an organization, commit to making visits.

2. Get 3 Entrepreneurs “On Board”: Entrepreneurs know how to make things happen. They don’t ask the “what if question”, they ask “What else can we do?” They burst through barriers. They bring the kind of attitude and vision an organizations needed to grow. Entrepreneurs embrace change.

3. Start Thinking… Stop “Re-Thinking”: Most organization never really stop and take a timeout to think about the really big questions like “Why do we exist?” Regarding re-thinking, most organizations come together and have retreats to create more and more plans and if you look at it, we’re really just re-thinking the same things over and over.

4. Change People: One of Tom’s favorite quotes is “It’s easier to change PEOPLE than it is to CHANGE people.” Kets de Vries (via Tom Peters). So don’t try to change people. Actually put in different people to help the organization change. This is not a reflection or a judgment on the current people, it’s just that change sometimes requires change.

5. Think Bigger: We can’t limit ourselves to what’s been in the past. See 9 Big Board Questions.

6. Create Your Own Reality/Create A New Reality: We become what we think about. Part of this is about vision. I’ve watched hundreds of times as an organization clearly defines where it wants to go. It makes a decision to think about itself in a different light. All actions and decisions end up framing themselves around this reality. Often the change I see as an outsider is that an organization simply learns to think about itself differently and all the pieces then fall into place.

7. Identify Strengths – Give Them Steroids: A couple thoughts on this. One, regarding Marcus Buckingham (Soar With Your Strengths), find the things you’re doing really well and try to do a lot of it. But two, stop the things we’re really bad at that consume our time, energy and effort and have little to no return at the impact end and/or the income end.

8. Cook the Cows: The “nonprofit” world is full of sacred cows. (What’s a sacred cow? Look at any ‘nonprofit conference’ and the list of topics – for starters). Almost everyone knows that a lot of what nonprofits do doesn’t make any sense (read Tom’s ebook: Change [the] Rules). Yet, we continue to do them because it’s the way it’s always been done. Don’t do something if it doesn’t make any sense.

9. Stop Special Events: I’ve watched dozens and dozens of organizations find a transformation in this idea alone. (1) Stopping special events frees up a ton of staff and volunteer time. (2) It requires that we do something different. (3) It really boosts morale and (4) it forces change.

Yesterday, Tom was in Colorado Springs speaking to the AFP with Robbert Egger about Change. Today, I’m at AFP in NW Ohio talking about more of the same. However, I think Tom had more gumption. He put together an entire e-book on change

Change (the) Rules (DRAFT) includes all the ‘no-mores’, quotes on change and lots more vocabulary. Tom and I have both been framing our discussions around this quote from Tim Kight:

“Every Organization is Perfectly Designed to Get the Results that it’s Getting.”

Our message, this book and just about everything else we’re doing is about CHANGE, specifically the CHANGE we make to get different results…. Change RULES!

Change Your Vocabulary

If you get the whole change in thinking from ‘not-for-profit’ to ‘for-impact’ then here are several other CHANGES to help you change the way you think. More than some ‘language game’ this is really important stuff — it represents a completely different attitude!

You can also download the PDF

Stop being a not-for-profit.

Why do we define our selves in the negative? It makes no sense. Does your organization exist to ‘not make any money’? Or, does it exist to save lives, change lives and impact lives?

Stop defining yourself by what you’re not. Start defining yourself by what you are for: impact.

More than a shift in language we need a different way of being.

This shift is about attitude. It’s about your purpose (the WHY). It’s about re-thinking an entire sector (or two).

In 1950 Earl Nightingale wrote The Strangest Secret to Success. The secret (common to many beliefs, all sectors and all definitions of success): "We become what we think about". What becomes of us when our entire thinking is about nonprofit? What if we think instead about changing the world?* What becomes?

Then there is some great thinking from Peter Drucker who wrote, "Every organization has to prepare for the abandonment of almost everything it does." That’s powerful. We agree. A lot of ‘stuff’ needs to be abandoned**.

*The Movement: We’ve been sharing this message for the last 15 years and living it for longer than that. The past few years has given rise to an incredible conversation around this VOCABULARY and CHANGE: Social Benefit (Drayton). Social Entrepreneurs/Enterprise. Pierre Odimyer and other change agents are putting resources into ‘for-profits’ that change the world. Google.org comes out and says they will have a ‘for-profit’. It’s no longer about not-for-profit vs. for-profit. It’s about For Impact.

**Abandonment (a start): Direct mail. Lengthy Case Statements. Feasibility Studies. "Volunteer Solicitations". Survival Pitches. Small thinking. Cultivation. Special events (that aren’t special and don’t raise money). Letters that read “We are a 501(c)3” (who cares?). Committee Reports….

This play on words comes from my good friend Dick Celeste, President of Colorado College. Former Rhodes Scholar. Former Governor of Ohio. Former Ambassador to India. And currently, terrific father and grandfather. Dick gets this whole thing around CHANGE.

In this generation’s lexicon, ‘RULE’ is a good thing. So, yes, CHANGE does ‘RULE’.

At the same time, in order to really CHANGE something (yourself, your organization, the world), you also have to CHANGE (THE) RULES.

Paul Arden, in his wonderful little book It’s Now How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want To Be, speaks for a multitude of entrepreneurs and change agents when he says,

“You can’t solve the problem if you’re playing by the RULES.”

I believe it’s much stronger than that.

THERE ARE NO RULES!

Obviously, without violating any moral or ethical principles, when it comes to trying to solve important social problems, health problems, education problems, financial problems… THERE ARE NO RULES.

1. “BE the CHANGE you want to see in the world.”
   

   —Gandhi

   Gandhi’s eponymous quote is on everything from t-shirts to coffee mugs to bumper stickers. The power of this quote is around the word ‘BE’… which translates to ‘DO’.

   CHANGE is up to us. Some of you reading this can actually CHANGE THE WORLD, especially leaders of CHANGE ORGANIZATIONS. All of us have the ability to CHANGE OUR world, our health, our income, our relationships, our lives.

2. “EVERY organization needs to ABANDON almost EVERYTHING that it does.”
   

   —Peter Drucker

   The man has written what seems like hundreds of books and thousands of articles. This is surely one of my favorite quotes. He says EVERY. He didn’t even use the word CHANGE. He said ‘ABANDON’. He also didn’t talk about kaizen or tweak. He said (almost) EVERYTHING.

   Again, I would bring you back to the idea of breaking some RULES, especially if those rules are merely constraints on thinking differently.

3. “Every organization is PERFECTLY DESIGNED to get the RESULTS they are getting.”
   

   —Tim Kight

   Tim Kight is a friend and truly brilliant thinker. His quote is so obvious, yet always generates an AHA! moment.

   If we’re not happy with current results or outcomes or the situation… we need to CHANGE the DESIGN of what created the result.